Chicago should crack down on illegal sweepstakes machines, tax online sports betting and lift the city ban on video gaming — but only after demanding a greater cut of tax revenue from the state, City Council members said Monday.
A city consultant has concluded that video gaming is not worth pursuing under a tax structure now heavily tilted in the state’s favor. Right now, Springfield gets five to six times more than Chicago and other municipalities get from video gaming in Illinois.
Ald. William Hall (6th), chair of the Council’s Revenue Subcommittee, pegged the overall jackpot from video gaming at $1.1 billion, with $955 million of that amount going to the state of Illinois.
